Douglas Eaglesham Dunn, OBE (born 23 October 1942) is a Scottish poet, academic, and critic. He is Professor of English and Director of St Andrew's Scottish Studies Institute at

St Andrew's University (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

Background

Dunn was born in

Inchinnan Inchinnan (Scottish Gaelic: ''Innis Fhionghain'') is a small village in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The village is located on the main A8 road between Renfrew and Greenock, just south east of the town of Erskine. History The name of Inchinnan vil ...

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Re ...

. He was educated at the Scottish School of Librarianship, and worked as a librarian before he started his studies in

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

. After graduating with a First Class Honours degree from the

University of Hull , mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learning, established = 1927 – University College Hull1954 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £18.8 million (2016) , budget = £190 million ...

, he worked in the university's

Brynmor Jones Library The Brynmor Jones Library (BJL) is the main library at the University of Hull. In 1967 it was named after Sir Brynmor Jones (1903-1989) who initiated research in the field of Liquid Crystals (LCD) at Hull and became Head of the Department of C ...

under

Philip Larkin Philip Arthur Larkin (9 August 1922 – 2 December 1985) was an English poet, novelist, and librarian. His first book of poetry, ''The North Ship'', was published in 1945, followed by two novels, ''Jill'' (1946) and ''A Girl in Winter'' (1947 ...

.Wroe, 2003 He was friendly with Larkin and admired his poetry, but did not share his political opinions. He was a Professor of English at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

from 1991, becoming Director of the University's Scottish Studies Centre in 1993 until his retirement in September 2008. He is now an Honorary Professor at St Andrews, still undertaking postgraduate supervision in the School of English. He was a member of the

Scottish Arts Council The Scottish Arts Council ( gd, Comhairle Ealain na h-Alba, sco, Scots Airts Cooncil) was a Scottish public body responsible for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland. The Council primarily distributed funding from th ...

(1992–1994). He holds an honorary doctorate (LL.D., law) from the

University of Dundee , mottoeng = "My soul doth magnify the Lord" , established = 1967 – gained independent university status by Royal Charter1897 – Constituent college of the University of St Andrews1881 – University College , ...

, an honorary doctorate (D.Litt., literature) from the University of Hull and St Andrews. He became a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, ele ...

in 1981, and was appointed an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 2003. ''Terry Street'', Dunn's first collection of poems, appeared in 1969 and received a Scottish Arts Council Book Award as well as a Somerset Maugham Award.

Awards and honours

*1968

Eric Gregory Award The Eric Gregory Award is a literary award given annually by the Society of Authors for a collection by British poets under the age of 30. The award was founded in 1960 by Dr. Eric Gregory to support and encourage young poets. In 2021, the seve ...

*1969

Book Award for ''Terry Street'' *1969 Somerset Maugham Award. for ''Terry Street'' *1976 Scottish Arts Council Book Award for ''Love or Nothing'' *1976 Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize for ''Love or Nothing'' *1981 Hawthornden Prize for ''St. Kilda's Parliament'' *1981 Fellow of the

*1985 Whitbread Book of the Year for ''Elegies'' *1989 Cholmondeley Award *2003 Officer of the OBE *

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the art ...

*Honorary doctorate (LL.D., law) from the

*Honorary doctorate (D.Litt., literature) from the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

Selected works

*''Terry Street'' - 1969 (winner of the Somerset Maugham Award) *''The Happier Life'' - 1972 *''Love or Nothing'' - 1974 (winner of the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize) *''Barbarians'' - 1979 *'' St. Kilda's Parliament'' - 1981 (winner of the Hawthornden Prize) *''Europa's Lover'' - 1982 *''Elegies'' - 1985 *''Secret Villages'' (collection of short stories) - 1985 *''Northlight'' - 1988 *''Andromache'' (translation of Racine's play of the same name) - 1990 *''Dante's Drum-Kit'' - 1993 *''Boyfriends and Girlfriends'' - 1995 *''The Donkey's Ear'' - 2000 *''The Year's Afternoon'' - 2000 *''New Selected Poems 1964-2000'' - 2002 *''The Noise of a Fly'' - 2017

Reviews

* White, Kenneth (1982), review of '' St. Kilda's Parliament'', in Murray, Glen (ed.), ''

Cencrastus ''Cencrastus'' was a magazine devoted to Scottish and international literature, arts and affairs, founded after the Referendum of 1979 by students, mainly of Scottish literature at Edinburgh University, and with support from Cairns Craig, then a ...

'' No. 8, Spring 1982, pp.44 & 45, * Craig, Cairns (1984), ''Lourd on My Hert'', which includes a review of ''Europa's Lover'', in Hearn, Sheila G. (ed.), ''

'' No. 15, New Year 1984, pp. 54 & 55,

Notes

References

External links

Art UK Your Paintings, in partnership with the Public Catalogue Foundation
*
Profile and poems written and audio at The Poetry Archive

''Guardian profile "Speaking from experience"'' 18 January 2003

Article "Douglas Dunn: ''Finished Fragrance: The Poems of George Mackay Brown''. ''Poetry Nation'' No 2 - 1974

National Gallery of Scotland profile and sculptureFerens Gallery, Hull.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Douglas People from Renfrewshire Scottish librarians Scottish literary critics Scottish poets Officers of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Academics of the University of St Andrews Scottish scholars and academics Alumni of the University of Hull 1942 births Living people